 Marine Drive south of Stanwood, Washington, flooded by the Stillaguamish River | |
| Overall effects | |
|---|---|
| Fatalities | 2 |
In December 2023,an atmospheric river caused flooding in the Pacific Northwest. [1] Rainfall and temperature records were set in the U.S. state of Washington. [2] Two deaths have been attributed to this flood. [3] One person died in Portland. [4]
The Oregon Coast saw highway and school closures,and Cape Lookout State Park closed as well. [5] [6] [7]
A mudslide south of Kelso caused Amtrak to suspend passenger rail service on the Cascades and Coast Starlight between Seattle and Portland,Oregon. [8]
The Stillaguamish River in Snohomish County reached 21.34 feet (6.50 m) at Arlington,setting a new record high. [1] The river inundated the community of Silvana [1] and cut off portions of State Route 530. [9] Local teams made 13 rescues along the Stillaguamish River and responded to several other calls for stranded people cut off by the Skykomish River in Monroe. [10]
Snohomish County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census,it is the third-most populous county in Washington,after nearby King and Pierce counties,and the 72nd-most populous in the United States. The county seat and largest city is Everett. The county forms part of the Seattle metropolitan area,which also includes King and Pierce counties to the south.
Arlington is a city in northern Snohomish County,Washington,United States,part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The city lies on the Stillaguamish River in the western foothills of the Cascade Range,adjacent to the city of Marysville. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Everett,the county seat,and 40 miles (64 km) north of Seattle,the state's largest city. As of the 2020 U.S. census,Arlington had a population of 19,868;its estimated population is 20,075 as of 2021.
Darrington is a town in Snohomish County,Washington,United States. It is located in a North Cascades mountain valley formed by the Sauk and North Fork Stillaguamish rivers. Darrington is connected to nearby areas by State Route 530,which runs along the two rivers towards the city of Arlington,located 30 miles (48 km) to the west,and Rockport. It had a population of 1,347 at the 2010 census.
Stanwood is a city in Snohomish County,Washington,United States. The city is located 50 miles (80 km) north of Seattle,at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River near Camano Island. As of the 2020 census,its population is 7,705.
The Stillaguamish River is a river in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Washington. It is mainly composed of two forks,the longer North Fork Stillaguamish and the South Fork Stillaguamish. The two forks join near Arlington. From there the Stillaguamish River proper flows for 22 miles (35 km) to Puget Sound. The river's watershed drains part of the Cascade Range north of Seattle.
The Amtrak Cascades is a passenger train route in the Pacific Northwest,operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It is named after the Cascade mountain range that the route parallels. The 467-mile (752 km) corridor runs from Vancouver,British Columbia,through Seattle,Washington,and Portland,Oregon,to Eugene,Oregon.
Portland Union Station is a train station in Portland,Oregon,United States,situated near the western shore of the Willamette River in Old Town Chinatown. It serves as an intermediate stop for Amtrak's Cascades and Coast Starlight routes and,along with King Street Station in Seattle,is one of two western termini of the Empire Builder. The station is a major transport hub for the Portland metropolitan area with connections to MAX Light Rail,the Portland Streetcar,and local and intercity bus services. The station building contains Wilf's Restaurant &Bar on the ground level and offices on the upper floors. It also has Amtrak's first Metropolitan Lounge on the West Coast,which is reserved for first-class sleeping car and business-class passengers.
Everett Station is a train station serving the city of Everett,Washington,United States. The station has been served by Cascades and Empire Builder since opening in 2002,replacing an earlier station near the Port of Everett. The four-story building also houses social service programs and is the center of a 10-acre (4 ha) complex that includes parking lots and a large bus station used primarily by Community Transit,Everett Transit,and Sound Transit Express. The station has served as the northern terminus of the Sounder N Line since 2003 and the Swift Blue Line since 2009. It consists of two side platforms,one serving Amtrak and the other serving Sounder commuter trains. Everett Station also functions as a park and ride,with 1,067 short-term parking spaces located in lots around the station after it was expanded by Sound Transit in 2009.
State Route 530 (SR 530) is a state highway in western Washington,United States. It serves Snohomish and Skagit counties,traveling 50.52 miles (81.30 km) from an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) southwest of Arlington past SR 9 in Arlington and Darrington to end at SR 20 in Rockport. Serving the communities of Arlington,Arlington Heights,Oso,Darrington and Rockport,the roadway travels parallel to a fork of the Stillaguamish River from Arlington to Darrington,the Sauk River from Darrington to Rockport and the Whitehorse Trail from Arlington to Darrington.
Harvey Airfield,also known as Harvey Field,is a privately owned,public-use airport in Snohomish,Washington,United States,northeast of Seattle. The airfield has one 2,671-foot (814 m) asphalt runway,one 2,430-foot (740 m) turf runway,and fourteen hangar bays. It covers an area of approximately 145 acres,and is home to 261 based aircraft,including 9 helicopters and 9 multi-engine planes,as well as 19 businesses including a hot-air balloon charter business.
The Northern Transcon, a route operated by the BNSF Railway,traverses the most northerly route of any railroad in the western United States. This route was originally part of the Chicago,Burlington and Quincy Railroad,Northern Pacific Railway,Great Northern Railway and Spokane,Portland and Seattle Railway systems,merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad system in 1970.
State Route 532 (SR 532) is a short Washington state highway in Island and Snohomish counties,located in the United States. It connects Camano Island and Stanwood to a junction with Interstate 5 (I-5) northwest of Arlington.
Washington,officially the State of Washington,is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington state to distinguish it from the national capital,both named after George Washington. Washington borders the Pacific Ocean to the west,Oregon to the south,Idaho to the east,and shares an international border with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. Olympia is the state capital,and the most populous city is Seattle.
The Great Coastal Storm of 2007 was a series of three powerful Pacific storms that affected the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia between December 1,2007 and December 4,2007.
The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington,including Puget Sound,the Puget Sound lowlands,and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the Olympic Mountains. It is characterized by a complex array of saltwater bays,islands,and peninsulas carved out by prehistoric glaciers.
The Pacific Northwest Corridor or the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor is one of eleven federally designated higher-speed rail corridors in the United States and Canada. The 466-mile (750 km) corridor extends from Eugene,Oregon,to Vancouver,British Columbia,via Portland,Oregon;and Seattle,Washington,in the Pacific Northwest region. It was designated a high-speed rail corridor on October 20,1992,as the one of five high-speed corridors in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA).
The January 2012 Pacific Northwest snowstorm was a large extratropical cyclone that brought record snowfall to the Pacific Northwest in January 2012. The storm produced very large snowfall totals,reaching up to 50 inches (1,300 mm) in Oregon. A 110 mph (180 km/h) wind gust was reported at Otter Rock,Oregon. A mother and child were killed in Oregon after the car they were in slid into a creek,while a man was killed in the Seattle area. About 200,000 homes were without power in the Greater Seattle area after the storm.
An extremely powerful extratropical cyclone began in late October 2021 in the Northeast Pacific and struck the Western United States and Western Canada. The storm was the third and the most powerful cyclone in a series of powerful storms that struck the region within a week. The cyclone tapped into a large atmospheric river and underwent explosive intensification,becoming a bomb cyclone on October 24. The bomb cyclone had a minimum central pressure of 942 millibars (27.8 inHg) at its peak,making it the most powerful cyclone recorded in the Northeast Pacific. The system had severe impacts across Western North America,before dissipating on October 26. The storm shattered multiple pressure records across parts of the Pacific Northwest. Additionally,the bomb cyclone was the most powerful storm on record to strike the region,in terms of minimum central pressure. The bomb cyclone brought powerful gale-force winds and flooding to portions of Western North America. At its height,the storm cut the power to over 370,500 customers across the Western U.S. and British Columbia. The storm killed at least two people;damage from the storm was estimated at several hundred million dollars. The bomb cyclone was compared to the Columbus Day Storm of 1962,in terms of ferocity.
The Oso Landslide Memorial is a memorial for the 43 victims of the Oso landslide in Snohomish County,Washington,United States. It is located along State Route 530 and the Whitehorse Trail east of Oso.
A powerful extratropical cyclone developed c. November 18,2024,in the Northeast Pacific and struck the Western United States and Western Canada. The storm underwent bombogenesis,rapidly dropping its central pressure to a record-tying level of 942 mb. The storm was associated with an atmospheric river that dropped large amounts of rain in Oregon and California. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued a rare high risk of excessive rainfall in parts of Northern California,warning of "life-threatening flooding".